24 November 2012

Pre-Marathon Thoughts

Thoughts on Training:

Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Tonight is the eve of my first marathon!

Sunday, 25 November 2012
26.2 Mile Run
(click here for related blog)

Since last weekend's 10-miler I have taken it very easy. Lots of walking, lots of relaxing, lots of getting excited/nervous for the big race! I did a light run on Tuesday, but that's it.

The neck/back pain from the auto-wreck last Thursday has stayed away (at least for the time being), for which I am tremendously thankful!

No last-minute injuries (whew! I fretted over that one all week. I was so sure I'd trip down a flight of stairs and literally break my leg just before the race).

Monday my right knee started piping up. A light ache on the front-outside of the patella (knee cap). It persisted until Thursday, was absent Friday, but returned today - much to my dismay. However, I wore my running shoes to take Heidi for our long walk, and the pain was completely gone. Maybe it's shoe related? *shrug - so long as it isn't an issue tomorrow.

At least that's the only injury-ish thing I've experienced! That's something for which to be thankful!

Friday I took it easy. Made myself a nice spaghetti dinner to do some carbo-loading. Got good sleep and a large number of hours. Went to the expo today to pick up my packet and meet Bart Yasso! When I learned that he was doing book signings at the expo and speaking as the keynote at the pre-race night dinner (that I opted not to attend), I picked up his book. So far it's pretty amazing! It was a pleasure meeting him, and he left me a great note and his signature in my copy of his book. I'll have to post a picture of the message later, though. The rest of the expo was fun. Everyone was helpful, and I got a cool 26.2 headband/earmuff thing that wicks moisture. I plan to put it to use tomorrow since the temperature will be low enough to warrant some light gloves and ear protection (at least for this transplant Floridian).

I have my race bib and pace bib safety-pinned to my marathon shirt. I have a change of clothes packed. I have some Clif bars and my Hammer Endurolyte powder packed. I have my tag on my running sneakers. I have eaten a satisfying meal (albeit another spaghetti one). I diligently hydrated all day. I relaxed and did some walking with Heidi (it's her 3rd birthday today, by the by!). My race outfit has been set out and is ready to be donned. I think I'm as ready for this marathon thing as I can be!

Looking forward to seeing a few friends at the 24th mile to cheer me on! Stay tuned for photos and a recap of the race! See you on the flip side!

Happy running!

Below you can see a list of previous training updates, upcoming races, and three of my Pinterest boards that you might enjoy.

Previous Training Updates:

Click here to view the post about my taper 10-miler (17 NOV).

Click here to view the post about my my first 20-miler (10 NOV).

Click here to view the post about my training up to the week before this blog's 18-miler (3 NOV).

Click here to view the post about my training through my first 15-miler (28 OCT).

Upcoming Races:
Pinterest Boards of Interest:

    


 

Training Update

Thoughts on Training:

All right! I've got just a few minutes to make this post; I figured I ought to do it at least BEFORE the race. It's belated, but better late than never, they say.

Last Saturday marked the height of my marathon's taper mileage. I ran 10 miles, and it was great! Thanks to the friends who did some running with me! You guys made those 10 miles such a breeze!

During and afterwards I felt very energized, bouncy, buoyant. I think that means I did my taper properly. My legs were feeling good to go!

Not much more to say than that about that run. = ) Now for a quick pre-marathon post!

Below you can see a list of previous training updates, upcoming races, and three of my Pinterest boards that you might enjoy.

Happy running!

Previous Training Updates:

Click here to view the post about my taper 10-miler (17 NOV).

Click here to view the post about my my first 20-miler (10 NOV).

Click here to view the post about my training up to the week before this blog's 18-miler (3 NOV).

Click here to view the post about my training through my first 15-miler (28 OCT).

Upcoming Races:
Pinterest Boards of Interest:

    


 

21 November 2012

11 Simple Economic Lessons to Make You a Smarter Shopper on Black Friday

As a follow-on post to my previous one, here is a good article I came by, entitled 11 Simple Economic Lessons to Make You a Smarter Shopper on Black Friday.

Did you know that Black Friday takes it's name from the fact that it's the beginning of the time of year when a lot of stores go from red to black?


I've never been out for Black Friday, but I hear it's a complete zoo. If that's your thing, enjoy it, but at least go out with a plan, and don't let the retail world win. Happy shopping!

19 November 2012

7 Ways to Go Broke This [Holiday] Season

I'm on Dave Ramsey's email list, so every now and then I get his little newsletter. A recent one included this article: 7 Ways to Go Broke This [Holiday] Season. I thought it was a good read and wanted to share with you. Check it out if you're looking for ways to stay financially fit this Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve!

My way to go broke that I'm working to correct on my Christmas gift budget is the "Give presents to everyone in your family". But I'm extending it to include friends. In recent years I've purchased presents for friends who I've realized I don't necessarily need to give a present to. I'm updating my budget to give presents only to those who are very near and very dear to me this year. (Please don't hate me if you got a gift last year and don't get one this year. I'm trying to be smart with my money. It's not personal... not really.)

So, good luck to you as you build your Christmas budget and gift list. Remember, going into debt for months or more is not worth meeting the "obligation" of buying that second cousin a present. = P


PS - I'm getting really excited to share with you all how much debt I've paid off this year and to date since starting the Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball in January 2011! = ) Look for that blog towards the end of December/beginning of January.

12 November 2012

Training Update


Thoughts on Training:

I'm happy to report that I had FIVE friends join me for pieces of my first 20-mile run! Andrew joined me for my first lap around Lake Baldwin, and Oscar ran two quick laps with me - that put me at the 8-mile mark. At this point I drove home to grab Miss Heidi. Then we met up with Kat and did 4 miles around Baldwin Park; this brought me up to 12 miles - 8 to go! I ran out to the lake, then met up with Jenny for the last 5. Another huge thanks to my friends. You made those 20 miles a piece of cake.

Somehow 20 miles was easier than last weekend's 18. Not sure why: I got about the same amount of sleep, fueled up about the same, hydrated about the same. *shrug

I am getting pretty excited about my first full marathon. A fellow by the name of Bart Yasso is the keynote speaker at the Expo's Pre-Race Dinner. Mr. Yasso is a huge name in the running world, apparently. I'm surprised I'd not come by his name until I was reading through the marathon's website to get prepped for the race. Anyway, I'm not going to the dinner, but he'll be at the Expo the day before the race to sign copies of his book. I bought one today and aim to read it between now and the race (sorry, Cloud Atlas: bit of a time crunch on this one). He was practically begged to write a book containing his crazy running stories and experiences. I mean, this guy has done marathons on every continent. That's impressive, and I want to know more.

Aside from buying a book about running I also started a new list (I do love lists). This list is all about stuff I need to do in order to fully prepare myself for this marathon. It's not a complete list, and maybe never will be, but I'll probably blog it after the race as a guide to others interested in running a marathon.

Yesterday officially kicked off my tapering for the race. Yesterday I walked around like an old gorilla because the backs of my knees were killing me (due to my going out in 4-inch heels, not all the running - I know, I'm an idiot). I walked for a while with Heidi, and that made a big difference. Today I was all back to normal. No aches or pains. I am telling you, Hammer's Endurolytes are flat out amazing. Back to the tapering stuff! I'll do some cross-training and a couple light runs through the week, a 10-miler on Saturday (easy peasy compared to that 20-miler), and then it's race weekend! Yay!

17 NOV - 10 miles
24 NOV - rest for day before my first full marathon!

Bad news bears... The Color Run 5K has been rescheduled to the WDW Marathon Weekend, so I'm not longer planning to participate. I'm all Mickey that weekend. Sorry color. I still love you.

Below you can see a list of previous training updates, upcoming races, and three of my Pinterest boards that you might enjoy.

Happy running!

Previous Training Updates:

Click here to view the post about my my first 20-miler (10 NOV).

Click here to view the post about my training up to the week before this blog's 18-miler (3 NOV).

Click here to view the post about my training through my first 15-miler (28 OCT).

Upcoming Races:
Pinterest Boards of Interest:

    


 

Rock My Run


A couple weeks ago a friend introduced me to Rock My Run, a website dedicated to sharing awesome running music with runners. It's free to register, and, upon registration, you get your first credit - for free! Songs less than an hour long are 1 credit, songs 1-2 hours long are 2 credits, etc. Also, you get a free credit each month!

My first credit went towards a mix called Dub Run. It kept me going during my 20-miler last weekend, so I guess it works.

Thought I'd share!

07 November 2012

Training Update

Thoughts on Training:

Last weekend's long run (18 miles) was an interesting one, but I had great company the whole way, and for that I'm so thankful! Miss Heidi joined me for the first 3 miles, I did a lap (2.5 miles) with Kat (it was great catching up with her), 9 miles with Scott (he's a life saver, that one), and I wrapped up the last 3.5 miles with Miss Heidi (she got a workout on Saturday, for sure). A special thank you to Kat and Scott (and you, too, Heidi, even though you can't read). (I must confess something... that last set with Heidi... I didn't run it - I didn't even jog it - but I DID it by walking, and I'm okay with that.)

So, I said it was an "interesting one" because it was the first long run that really tested my dedication to this marathon training. I thought I'd have hit that wall so much sooner, and I'm happy that I held out as long as I did: I made it to just 3 weeks out from the race before I found myself starting to waver! I think this is largely due to my being of the very dedicated variety. When I dedicate myself to something, I put a plan together, and I attack it. I just do it. I like working through processes, working step-by-step (no pun intended here). So, when I decided to do this marathon, I put a training plan together, and have been executing it. Sure, the earlier portion of the training was a little flimsy, but for the last 2 months I've been very focused. In only 1 week of the last 6 have I deviated more than 3 miles from the plan for my long runs.

Anyway, I mention all of this to say that despite my tendency to be seemingly excessively dedicated, it was during this run that I found myself bouncing back and forth between doing my full 18 miles or not. It was during this run that I found myself questioning my decision to run a marathon. "Why am I sacrificing 3-5 hours of my Saturday mornings to move my body across this earth? Why am I doing this, again?"

It was during miles 12-16 that really challenged my stamina. It was a challenge to my stamina both mentally and physically, but, honestly, it's so much more mental than physical. If I don't push myself, then, physically (assuming proper hydration and energy supplements), I feel like I could run like Forest: just run and run and run. But it's a head game, you see: "sure, you can run all these miles, but will you?" It's like there's a devil sneaking up behind you when you're vulnerable, and it whispers all sorts of reasons as to why you should just quit now, and, if you do quit, if you let the devil win, then you are forced to watch your potential success float away on a cloud of guilt disguised as relief. It's the regret of having sold yourself short.

Upon reflection, and even during the run, it was quite funny to see myself ping-ponging in my determination to complete the run. I'm sure Scott got a kick out of it, listening to me banter with myself, going from "this is going to be the last lap; I'm done after this one" to "no, I really need to do the full 18 miles. I really do want to do them. I'm gonna do them" and back again to "want to do just one more lap after this, then call it a wrap?" to the right decision of "okay, I'm going to do these miles - all of them. I want this". Yes, I walked the last 3 or so miles, but I did all 18 that day. And, ya know what? I'm really proud of myself: I did 18 miles - my longest distance ran to date. That's kind of impressive, isn't it?

Something I realized over the weekend: Lake Baldwin and I, we are very well acquainted. We spend a lot of time together. There were only 2 points during the run where I thought, "gosh, I'm sick of this loop," but, really, I love it. I love the scenery, the water, the people out and about with their dogs and/or kids... I'm really happy that I moved from Waterford Lakes to Baldwin Park. I enjoy running in this area of town. I think I would have sipped on some cyanide juice if I had to run so many miles on my Waterford Lakes Town Center Loop!

Oh, my goodness! The Space Coast Marathon is just 3 weeks away!

My next long run is the big one. It's the run where I will peak in my mileage. This Saturday I'll be hoofing it for 20 miles. I'm planning to do an average of 5 miles/hour so I am done within 4 hours. That's being optimistic (it took me 4.5 hours to do last weekends 18 miles - but I putzed around for a good bit of it, too), but if I stick to my plan, I should be just fine. I've already got a Facebook event going to coordinate running buddies, though I have a feeling this one will mostly be myself out there. But that's okay; I like running with just myself.

The run after this weekend will be a tapered run of "just" 10 miles. You know you're a runner when you say "just" 10 miles. Heh. Look at me now, Anderson Highland High School Cross Country Team of 2003-2004! Boom, baby!

10 NOV - 20 miles
17 NOV - 10 miles
24 NOV - rest for day before my first full marathon!

Below you can see a list of previous training updates, upcoming races, and three of my Pinterest boards that you might enjoy.

Happy running!

***EDIT***

I just want to say that I am SO thankful that I have been totally injury free during this training. I seriously attribute it to my Brooks shoes. A stellar pair of running shoes (that aren't overused) does so much to ward off injury. Yay for no injuries! Now, pray that it stays that way. = )

***EDIT***

Previous Training Updates:

Click here to view the post about my training up to the week before this blog's 18-miler.

Click here to view the post about my training through my first 15-miler.

Upcoming Races:
Pinterest Boards of Interest:

    


 

02 November 2012

Training Update


Thoughts on Training:

Last week I posted a blog about my training up to that first 15-miler, 2 weekends ago. Click here to view the post.

Last weekend's run wasn't what I'd had planned, but it wasn't bad either. I was supposed to increase my long run mileage from 15 to 18, but with ramping up for several weekends in a row I decided that it'd be okay if I only did 15.

It was a great run company-wise! For the first 5 miles I had 3 friends from work join me, and for the 2nd 5 miles I had a book club friend join me. Trouble is, my pace dropped from ~10:00 minutes/mile to ~8:00 minutes/mile between the two 5 mile sets. I was struggling to keep pace on that 2nd 5 mile set, and decided that I ought to stop at 10 miles rather than risk injuring myself - my knees were already whining and moaning. So, the distance wasn't what I'd planned/needed (though certainly better than nothing at all), but the unexpected speed was a nice change of pace (heh, see what I did there?).

Tomorrow I have another long run slated. I am so blessed to have friends who would spend a portion of their Saturday morning running with me! I already have at least one friend to run with me for 7/8 of the half hour chunks! Their companionship on these runs really makes a huge difference! The time passes more quickly and it's so much more fun!

Since it's November I guess it's okay to start counting down to the Space Coast Marathon! It's less than a month away now! 23 days to go!

3 NOV - 18 miles
10 NOV - 22 miles
17 NOV - 15 miles
24 NOV - day before my first full marathon!

I've deviated from my original plan for mileage, so I'm kind of winging it at this point. If you're a veteran marathoner and have a suggestion to the above mileage plan, please do let me know! I'd love to hear your feedback!

Below you can see what races I have lined up. Clearly I've switched from sprint triathlon mode to long-distance running mode. I've also provided three of my Pinterest boards that you might enjoy.

Happy running!

Upcoming Races:
Pinterest Boards of Interest: